Olympics DAS

Flint provided full network planning, design and implementation for a radio base station ‘hotel’ at the Olympic Games

Single site for 2G, 3G and Tetra communications

Master design ensured all service and equipment providers were clear about what they needed to provide

Project included the installation of 96 antennas in a Distributed Antenna System and over 10km of fire cable

The project was delivered to stringent timescales

Flint was asked by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to plan, design and oversee the implementation of a multi-vendor radio base station (RBS) hotel and infrastructure in the Olympic Park. The Distributed Antenna System (DAS) was part of a project to provide additional capacity for the organisers, staff, visitors and the emergency services at the 2012 Olympic games. The design needed to be able to be used by all mobile network operators working at the Olympics, as well as emergency services which had their own communications channels during the event.

During an extensive bidding process, Flint was able to demonstrate to the lead client that it could meet the stringent timescales and could comply with all risk management objectives of the project using its proven Network Plan, Design & Implement service. The client also knew that Flint could offer the flexibility needed to deliver the project.

The Challenge

The project was extremely complex as all four mobile network operators, plus the emergency services, needed to have equipment housed in the RBS ‘hotel’ with appropriate connection to the data network.The project involved the installation of 96 distributed antennas and 11km of fibre and co-axial cabling, which all needed to be in place ready for the start of the Olympics, meaning that there was no room for slippage. Given the location and, of course, the security around the Olympic Games, health and safety requirements were particularly tight.

As Flint MD Neil Burbidge explained, “The project was logistically challenging as there were so many different parties which needed to sign off acceptance. We were also dealing with a wide variety of different technologies that needed to be integrated, with equipment for 2G and 3G mobile, plus the emergency services’ Tetra network, as well as data services”.

The Solution

Flint produced a master design for the base station hotel. Once installation began, Flint was responsible for supervising installation by a range of specialist contractors and equipment suppliers, providing additional expert resource where needed to ensure that the base station hotel was completed and live on time.

In addition to the equipment within the RBS hotel, remote antennas were also fitted to cover communications within the bowl of the main arena, in the gantry and along the stadium approach.

The Result

The RBS hotel was delivered, tested and fully commissioned in ample time for the start of the Olympics, despite the tight timescales. Neil Burbidge added, “We were able to take complete responsibility for the design so that the owners of the project, didn’t have to worry about the detail”.

Once the infrastructure was installed, Flint was responsible for fully testing the network and ensuring that it was optimised for best performance with very high levels of traffic.

To find out how Flint can help you with your mobile data project, please contact us.